Panic a lot, NOW!

It's ok, you don't have to panic.
I did though. Picasa said casually, as it sometimes does, " Picasa is optimising database to save space" Oh yeah. Fine. I thought.
Then suddenly, pictures began to vanish. Before my very eyes. Then folders then OMG! The whole H drive declared that it was empty. All my pictures....maybe 20,000??? gone!!!!!
Gone where? Folder after folder...all of 060101 through to 071114 "folder empty"!
NOoooooooooo!
I looked at task manager and device manager and HELP!!! and the hard drive, peacefully glowing as it always does. I looked at properties. Properties said the H drive was still full of stuff but none of the stuff could be seen. I tried to detach the hard drive from everything and it said "the generic device burble burble meaningless numbers is being used by another programme and cannot be disconnected now. Try again later" What unmentionable F******g programme for ******* sake???????? I scanned things with Norton. Useless programe said everything was fine. Huh! How is it possible to be fine when it's not there?
I looked at 'recent' and it said "the file has been changed or moved and this shortcut no longer works....shall I delete it?"
NOoooooooooo!
I looked at all sorts of things...it's a bit like the days when I drove a mini and I got to know a lot about what to look at under the bonnet when things went wrong. I'm quite good at finding things to look at under the computer's bonnet.
Eventually I fell back on Eldest's standard advice. Restart. (In mini terms, push start).
While the computer chirped and chuntered away to itself I went and filled up the dishwasher and folded my woollies and poured several glasses of wine. From time to time I wobbled my delicate tooth to see if it was still wobbly and hurting. It was. Good. Not dead yet then.
Then I came back and in fear and trembling , started Picasa. Checked the windows folder thingie..Aha! pictures!!!!
I breathed.
Picasa started to put them all back in its data base. One by one. Numbers began to grow. I have pictures again!!!! It's got to 070406 and still going. Bloody slow I tell you!
I wiped the blue and purple spatterings from various outbursts of rage and despair and frustration out of the air around the thrice damned machine. Warmed up the hot and cold space in my head. Put my cardigan back on as I cooled down a bit and remembered it's a damned cold night. Looked at the time and cursed some more.
Phew.
I'd better back it all up. Onto clunky old DVD's. I'd better tallk to Eldest about RAID. some sort of backing up system he mentioned last time he was here. I'd better put lots of hard drives on my birtday present list. I'd better organise myself to back up once a week.



We've got to 070509. that's May ferC*****'ssake!!!!

25,000 Pictures! (at a rough guess) That's everything I've taken this year, every single photo. Shit!

I just had to say that! Can't get the text colour right now. That'll teach me to play with colours when under the influence of alcohol and computers.

and Oh look! windows would like me to restart now so it can install some important updates! It can wait. Picasa has only got to 070614. If I go away, Windows will automatically restart the computer to,install,its important updates and I can't immediately see a way to stop it. I really don't want it to interrupt picasa before it''s finished putting my pictures back. actually, it's only putting them in its database. If the pictures are there they are there whether or not Picasa can see them. Only I really don't want to come downstairs tomorrow to find that Picasa has managed to hide them all again...just because it's got in a strop when windows interrupted it.

You'll be pleased to hear that I worked my way round the furniture arrangements enough to get my poang chair set up today. You can't get into several rooms because there's surplus chairs and futons lying around but I can now go and sit in the Poang chair for a few minutes before going to bed.
Enough already. It's 03.27. I want to go to bed. It'll have to manage by itself.


Pooh.